Disk drives are a type of information storage device that store information on at least one spinning disk. Other types of information storage devices include, for example, magnetic tape drives which retrieve stored information on magnetic tape (e.g. linear tape drive, helical scan tape drive). There are several types of disk drives. For example, there are so-called floppy disk drives, which store information on removable magnetic disks. There are also optical disk drives, which typically retrieve information stored on removable optical disk media. Magnetic hard disk drives typically store information on non-removable rigid magnetic disks. Also for example, there are magneto-optical disk drives, which share some of the characteristics of optical disk drives and magnetic hard disk drives.
All types of disk drives typically include a base, to which a spindle motor and a head actuator (or lens actuator) are affixed. It is known in the art that casting is a low-cost manufacturing method for fabricating the disk drive base. Typically cast bases include regions that are subsequently machined to create registering surfaces to facilitate precise positioning of certain disk drive components relative to each other (e.g. motor spindle, actuator, and/or ramp components). Many disk drive bases are cast from aluminum, or an alloy of aluminum, because such metals are easy to machine and lightweight relative to alternative metals such as steel or iron. Disk drive base weight has become a more important consideration since disk drives have become more frequently used in portable consumer electronics applications, such as laptop computers.
However, cast aluminum disk drive bases may have poor damping characteristics, which can exacerbate the consequences of mechanical vibrations and externally applied mechanical shocks. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a disk drive design that can better dampen mechanical vibrations and/or mechanical shocks, within modern disk drive cost and weight specifications.